


Scene

by orphan_account



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Meeting Again, Taco Bell, Trans Character, hardly, kinda angst, shitty concerts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 00:38:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8644597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Not that Tyler cared at all really. It wasn't like they would ever see each other again.





	

In retrospect, Tyler supposed he should have seen this coming.

_“I can’t do this anymore, Tyler. You never pay attention to me. You’re too much, it’s driving me crazy.”_

Yeah, sounds about right. Tyler had never been good with relationships.

It wasn’t that he ever did anything particularly wrong, Tyler just never seemed to mesh well with people romantically. Or generally, for that matter.

But the only good thing that came of Tyler’s long, unfortunate series of romantic failures was the fact that he learned something from each any every one of them.

In elementary school, Tyler had his first crush, and it was on a boy named Michael. When Tyler told Michael this, he was met with confusion (“You’re a boy. I’m a boy. Boys like girls.”) When Michael promptly ran away and avoided Tyler for the rest of his life, Tyler learned that not everyone will like you.

From then on, Tyler was more cautious, only admitting his feelings to boys or girls he liked when he knew the feelings were mutual. Through middle school, he had his fair share of lovers, people his friends thought he would “look cute with,” whatever that meant. These were the ones who he hadn’t learned as much from. None stood out, none ever really meant _that_ much to him.

Until Josie came along. Josie was a sweet girl with brown eyes and nice teeth, and despite the fact that every boy in high school wanted her and every girl wanted to be her, Tyler and Josie somehow ended up dating. They dated only for a brief period of time, but there was a genuine connection there. The connection only broke when Josie left Tyler, saying it wasn’t his fault, saying she didn’t feel like herself and needed to figure things out. When Josie dropped out of high school, Tyler learned that even people who seem to have it all together on the outside can be having serious problems on the inside.

Then in college, Tyler was in a serious relationship with another girl named Megan, who was also a lovely girl, but he felt that their connection was more so that of two best friends who shared obligatory kisses, rather than two people who meant it when they said “I love you.” From Megan, Tyler learned that sometimes closeted lesbians date boys.

Then there was Jason, and then Cory, and from both of them he learned that sometimes people _lie_ , they don’t _actually_ love you, and they _will_ do it again. And the most recent was Alyssa. Alyssa, the girl Tyler thought was the one. The one he would end up with, the MVP. They were going to get married, have kids, and a house with a white picket fence and all that shit. Maybe their kids would play sports, maybe do theater. Who cares? As long as Alyssa was his wife. That was, however, shattered to pieces with the door slammed in Tyler’s face by said girl, all because Tyler was “too much,” whatever that meant. From Alyssa, he learned the most important lesson yet- a lesson about himself. He learned that Tyler Joseph simply would never learn his lesson.

So here he was, Tyler Joseph, age 26, single, avid Taco Bell consumer and shitty concert frequenter. Most eligible bachelor, really.

Also, here he was, Tyler Joseph, age 26, and giving up on love. He figured that maybe there was no such thing as _The One._ What with the divorce rate being above 50% now, he decided that no one really ended up in love, so what was the point? What was the point of dating just to break up? Seemed like a waste of time, to him. _And_ a waste of money. Why waste money on gifts for your significant other when you can spend that money on taco bell and shitty concert tickets?

Speaking of shitty concerts, that was where Tyler was headed. Some underground band that played nearby promoted themselves on twitter, and it somehow caught Tyler’s attention. He figured that the tickets were cheap, there would probably be weed somewhere, and if he was really miserable he could leave whenever he wanted.

But he never left, because he never wanted to, because this was his scene. His scene was hanging out alone in the back of the run down “venue” sipping on some Red Bull and nodding his head to some song he never knew the words to. His scene was people-watching from the back of a crowded room where no one would call him a perv, call him weird. There was nothing that made him happier than just _looking_ , seeing all these random people he had never seen before, and would never see again. To his right was a couple, definitely too young to be at a place like this in a city like this. They were trying too hard. The boy dressed in awfully tight black pants with rips in his knees, clunky, shiny boots, and a top hat. His shirt appeared to have long been discarded. _Sick tattoos, though_ , Tyler had to admit as his eyes brushed over the geometric patterns of black ink coating the guy’s left arm and left pec. _Pecs, yeah. If you could even call them that._ The guy was thin as all hell. The girl, however, was not. Not that Tyler cared at all really. It wasn’t like they would ever see each other again. She was clad in fishnet stockings, and some sort of leather outer garment that appeared to be squeezing her body so tight it would burst, and everyone would have to run and the thin guy with the sick tattoos would have to explain to the cops that _no, officer, I didn’t shoot her, she just wore her clothes too tight._ Tyler rolled his eyes.

To his left was a girl who appeared to have just walked in the entrance. He could tell she had never been here before, and couldn’t help but wonder why people even come to places like this in cities like this. Her long-sleeved white blouse and blue jeans proved that she was modest. _All the newbies are_ he thought. Not that Tyler cared at all really. It wasn’t like they would ever see each other again.

Making an attempt to avert his attention back to the stage, someone else caught his eye. There was a boy, stood a good distance away but directly in front of him, who seemed to be glancing at Tyler every couple of seconds. The boy was fit, Tyler had to admit. He had piercings too, which were always a plus. Dyed hair? So punk. Sign him the fuck up.

But Tyler wasn’t cocky. He didn’t let a coy smirk touch his face, no cocky demeanor about this, only a tilted head and a genuine, curious glance. Confused, Tyler assessed the boy’s glances. Tyler noticed that they were definitely not looks of lust, they were almost looks of fear. Tyler furrowed his brows further. Why would this guy be afraid of him? But Tyler wasn’t upset, and he wasn’t one to fight; hands too soft, stomach too weak. Upon closer inspection, Tyler realized he definitely knew this guy from somewhere. The eyes, the teeth. They weren’t something he would forget. And judging by the look on this guy’s face, he didn’t want Tyler to remember where he knew him from. _Did I date this guy?_ No, that wasn’t a body he would have forgotten. _Does he owe me drug money?_ Maybe. Not likely, though. Either way, the guy didn’t want to make himself known. Tyler watched as the guy shuffled his way along the outer edge of the room, making an attempt to leave quietly. Noticing this, Tyler matched his pace to meet him at the door.

“Hey, man.”

“Oh, hey.”

 “I saw you looking at me. Do I know you from somewhere?” Tyler was bold. Too bold, almost, even for his own liking. He knew he had a problem with not having a filter. He knew it from the time he told that boy Michael in elementary school that he liked him.

“What? No, man. No, I don’t think so.” The guy wasn’t bold. But he wasn’t shy, you almost weren’t allowed to be shy when you looked like that. He also wouldn’t meet Tyler’s eyes, which were currently squinted, focusing on the guy’s face.

“Are you sure? You look really familiar.”

“Yeah, dude. I’m pretty sure.” The response wasn’t rude, just firm, sure. Tyler believed him. He shrugged, figuring that since there weren’t any currently pressing issues in his life, it couldn’t have been that important anyway.

“Alright, then. I’m Tyler.” Tyler stuck his hand out to shake, and the guy took it in a strong hand.

“Josh.” The guy, now known to Tyler as Josh, let out a heavy breath as he said his own name. As if the word sat heavy in his mouth, and he couldn’t wait to get it out.

“Nice tattoos.” Tyler smiled, noting the bright colors. _Yeah, definitely can’t be shy with tattoos like that._ Josh smiled back, inspecting his own arm, revealed by his t-shirt.

“Thanks, man. I uh, I should get going, though. Nice to meet you.” Josh turned to leave, but stopped when Tyler spoke again.

“I’ll come with.”

“To . . . to my house?” Tyler noticed that Josh was still cautious talking to him, but didn’t comment on it. He rolled his eyes playfully.

“No, dude. This town isn’t that big, our houses can’t be that far apart.”

“Right, yeah. You’re right. Let’s go, then.” The two walked in silence for a few moments before Josh spoke up.

“So, do you go to those kinds of things a lot?”

“Those kinds of things?”

“You know. Those concerts.” Tyler chuckled.

“Concerts, yeah. If you could call them that. Yeah, I go a lot. Why? Do you?”

“No, I just moved into town actually. Do you usually go to concerts just around here or . . .” Josh trailed off, letting Tyler finish for him. He was asking for a reason that was more than just making polite small talk, but Tyler didn’t seem to pick up on it.

“Yeah, mostly around here. They’re cheap so, why not?”

“Yeah. Why not.” A brief silence ensued before Josh pointed out that he had to turn, noticing that Tyler kept walking straight.

“I’ll see you around, man. Nice talking to you.”

“Yeah, you too. Another concert soon?” Josh smirked, emphasizing the word “concert.”

“Next weekend probably. You’ll hear about ‘em. If not, there still is one. You’ll find it.” Josh didn’t really know what he meant, but smiled and nodded all the same, watching Tyler walk away after he called out a goodbye.

 

* * *

 

They don’t see each other for 2 weeks.

 

* * *

 

Tyler is at another concert, ignoring the couples getting it on all around him. This time, the couple to the right of him was two girls. Both heavily tattooed, but both dressed in floral prints and soft colors. It was an interesting contrast. Not that Tyler cared at all really. It wasn’t like they would ever see each other again.

He didn’t have a problem with messy hookups, but he didn’t need to be so close to someone else’s that he could hear their spit. _That_ wasn’t his scene.

To his left was a boy looking rather lonely. He was dressed in a red flannel and dark blue jeans, not too shabby. His messy mop of dirty-blonde hair somewhat complimented his thick-rimmed glasses. He looked nice, but that didn’t make him look any less lonely. Or maybe he was just alone. Tyler couldn’t tell the difference sometimes. Not that Tyler cared at all really. It wasn’t like they would ever see each other again.

So here Tyler is, at another shitty concert in the basement of some pub, looking for Josh. There had been a concert last weekend, and Tyler was there, but Josh wasn’t and Tyler wanted to find out why.

Searching through the crowds of people, he eventually spotted Josh, talking to some girl who was all over him. Tyler immediately got a strange feeling in his chest that he couldn’t quite place, but the feeling was quickly replaced by scorn when he noticed that Josh was _not_ reciprocating. He could hear Josh, ever so kind, gently trying to tell the girl he had to leave, he was meant to be meeting someone right now. But the girl never let up, rubbing her tiny hands all over Josh’s chest (“your pecs are huge”) and his arms (“your tattoos are so hot”). This was when Josh looked around, quickly noticing Tyler.

“Tyler!” He shouted out over the noise of the music. Tyler gave a teasing smirk, raising his eyebrows and nodding toward the girl. Josh made one last excuse and pushed the girl away, hearing her mumble something along the lines of “whatever, should have known you were a queer” as she walked away.

Josh rushed over to Tyler, smiling gratefully at him.

“Sorry to interrupt your fun.” Tyler joked. Josh rolled his eyes playfully, lightly shoving Tyler.

“ _Please_. She wouldn’t leave me alone. Pretty sure she grabbed my ass.” They both snickered at that.

“Are you hungry?” Tyler asked, noticing his own stomach growling.

“I could eat. We should get Taco Bell.”

“You read my mind.”

On their walk to Taco Bell, Tyler instantly brought up last weekend’s concert.

“I was looking for you, dude. You missed out on a great show.” Lies. The music was shit. It was always shit. Josh chuckled lightly.

“Yeah, I’m sure it was,” Tyler laughed too, realizing he had been caught, “but I had to go to the doctor. I would have gone to one nearby, but I was referred to one in my hometown to talk about my surgery coming up. Couldn’t make it back by nighttime.” He said too much. Now Tyler was curious.

“Surgery? What for?” Josh breathed in.

“Uh,” he exhaled, “my shoulder. Did something to the tendons there, I think.” Josh was tense, but Tyler wasn’t looking. He didn’t notice. He didn't know.

“Ouch, man. Sorry to hear.” Josh shrugged. They arrived at Taco Bell.

As they sat together, not talking much, Josh took special notice of Tyler’s hands. He thought they were beautiful, perfectly sculpted but clearly never put to good use. Josh thought Tyler should play instruments with them. But nothing straining, no. Something beautiful, beautiful like Tyler himself. Something _delicate_. He pictured Tyler strumming a harp in some swanky cabaret, dressed in a suit. He immediately pushed that picture out of his mind, because Tyler wasn’t pretentious like that. Never had been. Tyler was a piano in the comfort of his own home, in his pajamas, with a cup of coffee next to him.

At one point, Tyler received a phone call from someone. He seemed annoyed when he checked the caller ID, but assured Josh it would be quick. Not bothering to excuse himself, he answered the phone right in front of Josh. As he spoke, he held his phone in his left hand and had his right splayed out on the table in front of him. He looked around the deserted establishment as he was on the phone, but when he felt other, firmer fingers grab his own, he looked to Josh with a cocked eyebrow.

Josh seemed to be in his own world, inspecting Tyler’s fingers curiously, mumbling something about how he “always loved his hands.”

When Josh looked up to see Tyler smiling at him, phone call long since ended, he blushed profusely, dropping Tyler’s hand as if it were on fire and giving a quick “sorry.”

“It’s okay. Are you ready to go?”

“Uh. Yeah. Let’s head out.”

 

* * *

  

They don’t see each other during the week, as per usual, but they both do show up at the same concert. “Concert,” as if it weren’t just a few tipsy guys yelling to music.

“This band kinda sucks.” Tyler turned abruptly to greet the owner of the voice that had suddenly appeared next to him as he was sipping slowly on his drink of choice. Immediately, he relaxed and smiled. He knew those eyes. _Really_ knew them.

“Yeah, they all do.”

“Wanna get out of here?” This was new. Tyler never left concerts, no matter how shitty the band was, because that was his scene. But he figured, maybe _Josh_ was his scene now. And he realized that yes, he _did_ care, because he and Josh _were_ going to see each other again.

“Lead the way.” So Josh led the way back to his apartment, rather quickly as the night’s cold seemed to be against them.

Stepping into the apartment, Tyler basked in the welcoming warmth of the place. It was around the same size of his own. He wished he could have seen childhood pictures, decorations, antiques, _anything_ to get more of a feel for the place. But it was empty, save for a few couches and a TV in the living room, some snacks on the kitchen counter. But the one thing Tyler picked up on was how undeniably _Josh_ it smelled. After only meeting the guy a few times, Tyler had already memorized Josh’s scent. It was nothing artificial, either, no AXE or things of the sort. His own natural smell, maybe some maple cologne thrown in the mix. Either way, it was sweet. So, _so_ sweet, and so warm.

“Sorry it’s so empty. Just moved in.” Josh spoke, his voice sounding louder than it really was as it echoed against the walls of the empty room.

“Oh, yeah? Yeah, I figured I hadn’t seen you around before. Where did you move from?” Josh stilled momentarily at this, causing Tyler to furrow his brows, but he was back into his normal mannerisms so quickly it may not have actually even happened.

“Uh, Columbus. Want something to drink?” Tyler ignored his question and sat down on the living room couch, staring up at Josh who was leant against a counter. Tyler could tell Josh was nervous by the way he was trying so hard to be casual, act natural. He didn’t push it though. With Josh, Tyler never pushed it.

“No shit? Me too! Years ago, though.” Josh just nodded, about to turn around to step into the kitchen to retrieve the previously offered drinks when Tyler stopped him.

“Come here,” Tyler said, a smile on his lips. Josh raised his eyebrows, but complied as he made his way over, standing in front of a still-sitting Tyler.

“Wanna kiss you,” Tyler said, and in one smooth motion, he grabbed Josh by the hand, pulled him down onto the couch and connected their lips.

Josh eagerly responded, kissing back just as fervently. The kiss wasn’t rushed or overly heated, but it was a little more than passionate. The kind of kiss that hints at something, but it could have been anything. Picking up some sort of hint, Tyler went to go make a move to lift Josh’s shirt, grabbing it by the hem. Josh’s eyes widened as he pulled away, gripping Tyler’s wrist then standing up.

In this one instant, Tyler was back to his past. _Stupid, Tyler._ He was back to when Michael ran away from him, back to when Josie dropped out of high school, back to when Cory hit him and, especially, back to when he became “too much” for Alyssa. In this one instant, he knew. He knew Josh was going to leave him, just like everyone else did. He could never learn his lesson, could he? No, he couldn’t. Alyssa taught him that. She taught him the lesson that Tyler Joseph simply would never learn his lesson.

“Shit, Josh. I’m sorry. I always fuck up, I didn’t mean-”

“No, no. It’s okay,” Josh pecked Tyler’s lips, “it’s okay.” Tyler was stunned. _Okay? That was okay?_ Tyler had never done anything romantic in an _okay_ way. So when Josh gave him that simple peck, it meant more to him than he could explain. It meant that maybe he didn’t do anything wrong, that maybe Josh _wasn’t_ going to leave like the rest of them. But even though _Tyler_ hadn’t done anything wrong, there was still, evidently, something wrong.

“Okay. Sorry, I just thought-”

“Don’t hate me.” Josh cut him off. Tyler cocked his head. He was worried, but tried not to show it.

“What? Why would I hate you?” Josh was silent for a moment, eyes squinted.

“I need to show you something,” Josh said. Tyler’s concern grew. Of all of the possible things that Josh could have been about to reveal, Tyler couldn’t think of a single one, couldn’t think of what he was to expect. The one thing he _especially_ didn't expect, however, was for Josh to stand up in front of him and begin to take off his shirt. Tyler tried to stop him.

“No, Josh, you don’t have to. It’s okay.” Josh just shook his head, and proceeded. When his shirt was off, he couldn’t look Tyler in the eyes, because Tyler was staring at him, and he wasn’t saying anything. Tyler was staring at Josh’s torso, because he knew. He knew it wasn’t an undershirt he had on. He knew it was a binder.

Josh could physically _feel_ Tyler’s realization, boring into his chest like lasers.

“Josh,” Tyler said. But nothing followed. He tried again. “ _Josh_.” This time, he stood up, directly in front of Josh and hugged him. They hugged for a while, basking in the emotion. There were no tears, no sadness. There was “do you want to talk about it?” and a nod.

They sat down again, Josh having his shirt back on, and they held hands as Josh spoke.

“So, when we met at that first concert a few weeks ago, I knew right away where I recognized you from. I didn’t want to tell you, wanted to wait til it blew over. I didn’t want to tell you . . .” Josh trailed off, shook his head as he stared at the pattern of the couch cushions beneath them.

“Josh, how did you know me?” It seemed demanding, but it was much more curious on Tyler’s end.

“Uh. About ten years ago, I was Josie.” Tyler’s eyes widened. He blinked once, twice. Three times and he was glancing around the room, trying to make sense of the situation. He breathed in harshly, licked his lips. The brown eyes, the perfect teeth. Josh was much more masculine than Tyler remembered, but it was the same person. Always Josh.

“Josie Dun,” Tyler said. And Josh nodded, even though it wasn’t a question. “Holy shit,” Tyler said. And Josh nodded, even though it wasn’t a question.

“And, uh,” Josh began, “the surgery I told you about before . . .” He trailed off, but not because he couldn’t say it, not because he was ashamed. It was because Tyler was nodding. He understood. He _knew._

“And you were . . . we-”

“We dated, yeah.” Josh chuckled, seeing a smile grace Tyler’s lips as he chuckled as well, shaking his head in disbelief.

“You dumped me. Said you didn’t feel like yourself. I didn’t know what that meant.”

“This is what I meant.”

“You were never Josie.”

“Never.”

“You were always Josh.”

“Always.”

“Holy shit,” Tyler said once more before he kissed Josh deeply, “you’re so beautiful. I don’t even know what to say right now.”

“Nothing to say, Ty,” one more kiss, “nothing to say.”


End file.
